For part 2 in our rundown of great marijuana songs, we’re heading for Jamaica. Don’t worry, we won’t confine ourselves to the island. But that’s where we’ll begin. Because that’s where reggae began. Reggae’s relationship to weed is long and complex, and no twelve songs could possibly cover the breadth of thought and feeling its artists have expressed through their music. But we’re gonna try. What follows is Team Reggae, captained by the King, Bob Marley.
What makes reggae’s treatment of ganja different from the songs we looked at on Team Americana is the role marijuana plays in Rastafarian culture and religion. It is sacred, and its usage is fundamental to a harmonious life.
However, during much of reggae’s reign as a dominant musical impulse in Jamaican and Caribbean Islands writ large, marijuana was illegal. When reggae exploded onto the North American scene after the release of Jimmy Cliff’s movie The Harder They Come in the early ‘70s, many of the most significant songs that followed were heartfelt pleas for legalization.
Team Reggae is the place to go for the best weed songs
Eventually, Jamaica decriminalized possession of recreational amounts, but it didn’t come easy. Once that happened, in early 2015, the subject matter of weed songs shifted. That is not to say that every single pot tune in the 1900s focused exclusively on legalization. Far from it.
That points to a second fundamental difference in how marijuana is treated in reggae compared to other genres. Most other genres typically write specific dope songs. That is the subject of the song. Reggae does that too, but given the prevalence of the herb, kaya shows up in plenty of songs that may be about totally unrelated subjects. It’s just a part of daily life.
After decriminalization, weed songs didn’t vanish. Musicians may have lost a dominant topic, but that allowed them to cast an even wider net and incorporate the joys and dangers of weed into an increasing variety of songs. As I said, no dozen songs can capture it all, but the following is a pretty good place from which to start.
“LEGALIZE IT” by Peter Tosh (1976)
We’re leading off with one of reggae’s founding fathers and a definitive statement of purpose. This was the first track on Tosh’s first studio album. The song and the album were both titled “Legalize It.” After a sweet little drum intro, a heavenly choir sings “Legalize it,” and Tosh responds “Don’t criticize it.”
He then takes the listener on an intoxicatingly languid tour of the various names the plant goes by. Later he will offer a rundown of all the different professionals who make a habit of smoking. Finally, he lists many of the medicinal benefits its enthusiasts swear by. It’s anthemic and educational as well.
“POLICE IN HELICOPTER” by John Holt (1983)
Holt begins his song with virtually the same drumbeat that Tosh uses in “Legalize It,” but that’s where the songs part ways. Holt is far more confrontational in his call for legalization. The song describes the government's attempts at cracking down on ganja, and offers this comeback…
“If you continue to burn up the herbs, we gonna burn down the cane fields.” He puts ganja in perspective by saying “We don’t trouble your banana, we don’t trouble your corn, we don’t trouble your pimentos, we don’t trouble you at all." The song maintains the same slinky rhythm that Tosh employed, but this is a much darker call to ending the foolishness.
“THE INTERNATIONAL HERB” by Culture (1979)
Culture hit big in the late ‘70s wave of reggae acts that found homes with labels eager to exploit the new genre. International Herb was released on the short-lived Virgin Record subsidiary Front Line. Far from the confrontation of Holt, or even the argumentative nature of Tosh’s song, Joseph Hill and bandmates, remain entirely positive. Their thesis is that marijuana is not simply a local idiosyncrasy in the Caribbean. It is beloved and utilized all over the world.
Culture itself utilizes a much more upbeat production, with horns and whistles adding to the fun. It’s “good for meditation” and “good for inspiration,” a fact that is equally well-known amongst doctors, scientists, and schoolchildren from the Americas to Africa to Asia. Argue with the thesis if you like, but there is no denying that Culture presents it in a most engaging manner.
“EASY SKANKING” by Bob Marley and the Wailers (1978)
Choosing one Bob Marley song as representative of his musical examination of weed is a fool’s errand. I mean, “Easy Skanking” is the lead track on his 1978 album Kaya, and it is followed on the album by the title track, which you could argue is just as good if not better on the same subject.
But “Easy Skanking” is just about the best marriage of vocal, melody, and instrumentation with a title concept that I can think of. This is one of the most laid-back, easy songs you will find. It avoids politics. It avoids danger. It doesn’t even attempt to present a logical argument about the prevalence and benefits of ganja. All it does is take the listener on a little tip, drifting away from reality for a while. It is as soothing as music gets.
“WEED OOH” by Lutan Fyah (2012)
I figured it was about time to show that not all top-flight weed songs come from reggae’s golden age. Fyah was born just about the time Peter Tosh was releasing “Legalize It.” The intro to “Weed Ooh” shows some modern influence, with a hip-hop-style intro in which he identifies himself. We get a touch of spacy synth over the opening drum beats. But after the intro, blunts, bongs, and spliffs are occupying a typical reggae groove. But then, Fyah shifts gears again into some rapid-fire rap-style lyricism.
Fyah released “Weed Ooh” on the short seven-track Stella Green Farm Riddim collection a few years back. All the tracks shared rhythmic tracks which allows for minor variations within the songs. I think Fyah’s track is the best, but the entire album is a pretty chill way to spend a half hour.
“SWEET SENSEMILLA” by Mystic Roots Band (2000)
Mystic Roots Band is proof that you do not have to come from the islands to embrace reggae. They hail from Chico, California, and though they clearly identify as a reggae band, they incorporate many other influences. You might consider them a hybrid indie rock band along the lines of Sublime, the most successful hybrid reggae rock band from the turn of the century.
“Sweet Sensemilla” moves seamlessly from reggae to hip-hop and back again. It may not be for be for purists, but it shows reggae’s adaptability, without abandoning this core principle - “Lord knows I won’t waste my day on heroin or blow – Cali Herb Cali Herb, can you feel its effect? – Give thanks and praise for Jah most magic gift.”
“GANJA SMOKIN’” by Bajja Jedd (1995)
Jedd also shows some of hip hop’s influence on reggae by the ‘90s, but he is more eclectic than that. The Antiguan native draws inspiration from the melting pot of island cultures he encountered when he moved to New York. This is 1995, so the “legalize it” refrain is in full effect. But this is mostly a full-throated encouragement to give ganja a spin.
And, seeing as we just mentioned Sublime, this is another song that was inspired by Bradley Nowell. Except Nowell would have had to smoke about ten thousand more spliffs to reach Bajja Jedd’s insanely gruff baritone. Since much of reggae is sung in the upper registers, it’s a nice change of pace. I have no medical evidence of this, but I think you might just be able to get a contact high merely by listening to Bajja’s voice.
“GANJA FARMER” by Marlon Asher (2006)
Asher spearheads a group of Trinidadian reggae performers with this massive hit. It comes at a crucial moment, as moves to legalize weed were picking up speed. Asher penned this modern plea for acceptance, using more modern instrumentation and blending much of what came before.
You get thanks to Jah for the gift of the herb along with a rundown of all the wondrous possibilities it presents. You get a plea for legalization so that it can be readily incorporated into science and medicine, for the betterment of all. And you also get indignation and anger at the way governments continue to try to wipe it out. In an otherwise upbeat, gentle song, Asher has a verse about using a rocket launcher to blow a “big stinkin’ helicopter” out of the air when it begins burning the farmers' lands.
“100 WEIGHT OF COLLIE WEED” by Carlton Livingston (1984)
Most of the reggae songs we have talked about so far are more along the lines of meditations on the wonders of weed. There are calls to legalize it and brief snippets of narrative, but there really aren’t very many outright story songs in early reggae. Livingston changed that.
“100 Weight…” is a beautiful, vaguely haunting story about transporting his stash and running into some trouble. His gentle tenor floats over the heartbeat of a bass line and minimal drums and keys add accents. The effect is hypnotic and the story is compelling. Slick Rick and Robert Earl Keen would offer up story songs in hip-hop and Americana a few years later with much more humor and rambunctious energy. But Livingston, in the finest of reggae traditions, plays it cool. And it manages to be just as compelling.
“GANJA BABY” by Queen Omega (2004)
Like Marlon Asher, Queen Omega was born in Trinidad. But she found success after moving to London while still in her teens. Her songs show the clear influence of reggae but also incorporate elements of neo-soul pop that Brits from Amy Winehouse to Jorja Smith have explored.
On the particular subject of weed, she is very clear. “I am a ganja baby – I a ganja lady – I love to burn - because I love to learn.” And she gets in her subtle call for legalization as well, going through a roll call of all the types of smoke that should be legal.
Artists like Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths carved out a niche for female reggae performers, but often, the women have been relegated to a 20-feet-from-stardom role, providing backup support for male artists. Queen Omega has been able to build a career outside the confines of the Americas that now counts seven albums, with a voice that continues to grow stronger.
“SMOKE THE WEED” by Snoop Lion and Collie Buddz (2013)
As we shall see, the artists commonly known as Snoop Dogg will be captaining Team Hip Hop. He may be the single most recognizable proponent of weed in the world of music. He has already appeared as a guest on one of Team America’s songs. But this is Snoop Lion, a short-lived persona of the Dogg who dived headfirst into reggae with his Reincarnated album in 2013.
The message is fairly obvious in the title. “Smoke the weed – every day – don’t smoke the seeds – no way.” Snoop brings a touch of gangsta to his verse, but the song remains fully rooted in positive solutions to some of life’s problems. Collie Buddz, a reggae artist from Bermuda, adds a more traditional spin in his verses, and even offers up new recipes for listeners to consider – “Me mix the weed with a lil’ Grey Goose and tonic.” Snoop can afford the Goose. No word on whether it mixes well with Indoggo.
“I LOVE MARIJUANA” by Linval Thompson (1978)
We’ll return full circle back to the early days for this very simple, very definitive declaration. No need for analysis. I’ll let Thompson say it for himself. “I like to smoke marijuana – It gives me a deep meditation – I love to draw marijuana – It give me a deep meditation -It keep the natty dreadlocks jumping – It keep the natty dreadlocks rocking.” And later, maybe the truest lines ever written in a song about weed...“The white man love to smoke marijuana – The black man love to cultivate it.”